The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

Wonderful character development!

Instant Favorite.

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

To me this is a movie with a wonderful star-studded cast of favorites that I want to love, but just can't stand.Is it just me, or is this the worst cast movie of all time?Of course, it is a John Ford production with his standard crew, but their application in these roles completely destroys the entire movie.Another seemingly minor thing is the makeup. A number of scenes have the players in makeup so they look elderly (like that was needed). But, somehow it just makes the production look like a crappy high school play.I saw this film years ago and remember that I hated it. I saw that it was on the other day and figured I'd give it another try; I love a good western, and was probably too critical the first time around.No, I was right, this movie is appalling.It centers on a young idealist, fresh out of law school, who heads west to practice. That would be someone around 25 years old given the circumstances.The atrocious casting assigns the role to a 54 year-old James Stewart. His nemesis and rival for the hand of the lovely maiden in the story is a local no-nonsense tough-guy rancher. In real life this would probably be a 25 to 30 year-old experienced western man.The god-awful casting gives this role to a rapidly aging 55 year-old John Wayne.So, now we have two men supposedly infatuated with a young woman who would be the age of their grandchildren in real life.Another part is assigned to a ranch hand, also a supposed youth, who in one scene is kicked out of the room because he is "too young to vote."That part is played by 51 year-old O. Z. Whitehead.Again, we have the young and illiterate waitress who is ready to marry - a 16 to 18 year-old in those days.That part is given to 33 year-old Vera Miles. At least she is only one generation older than the part she is playing.So, in the end, this movie had everything going for it: An exciting western adventure full of interesting characters and some good plot twists.Unfortunately it is a great story completely ruined by a cast of geriatric actors.

Ronson Stoddard, a lawyer, head out west in search of a new life. He settles in a small town but soon comes into conflict with the local crime lord, Liberty Valance. Stoddard's only ally is rancher Tom Doniphon. With Stoddard's knowledge of the law and Doniphon's gun, they are determined to bring Valance down.Another great western from John Ford. Great plot, with a good twist at the end. More than a conventional western-action-drama, the movie covers issues like press freedom, vigilantism, law and order, and even has a romantic angle.John Wayne and James Stewart play their parts to perfection. Lee Marvin is evil personified as Liberty Valance.A timeless classic.

Stewart plays Ransom Stoddard, a peaceful and idealistic attorney. Wayne plays Tom Doniphon, a tough sharp-shooter and complete opposite to Ransom. Both men share a common interest in the same woman, but also share a common dislike to the town's local thug, Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin). Lee Marvin plays Liberty Valance, a local thug who bullies the town with violence and intimidation, which is more than enough for Ransom to pair.But what was thought to be a miraculous moment for Ransom was actually a surprising twist near the end. Tom let Ransom take credit for killing Valance because he was a good man, and people had looked up to him for standing up to a bully, whereas Tom himself would've just be remembered as a gun-slinger who was always at odds with Valance, and it would've been a matter of time if one of them killed the other. Tom also knew that the same woman the two men vied for loves Ransom, so he accepted that the best man won her heart (and that's why he wanted Ransom to live, for her).Stewart and Wayne were both brilliant in the film. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance was one of the greatest western films of all. In 2007, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Is there a more emblematic way of signalling the death of the old west than the death of John Wayne himself? Of course, we don't see his actual body, but we are made aware of what sort of person he was through the reminiscing and the dialogue - Jimmy Stewart's indignation that such a great man could ever be buried without his boots or his gun belt. There are no wide, sweeping shots of the town or of the iconic Monument Valley. Anyone who is at least a little familiar with the Western will recognise that it has become a relic here. Sometimes the steam engine brought the hero's last hurrah - here it brings not a gunslinger, but a politician and his wife. The sheriff is a plump, gone to seed kind of fellow...ah, but he was always like that. Sometimes the law must stand aside for a while for these conflicts to boil. So we have two opposing perspectives; Ranse, the young hotshot lawyer who has grand visions of his practice and schooling being able to restore this lowly frontier town, and the pragmatist, Tom, who prefers brute force and seems to be the only one who can stand up to Liberty Valance. And in between, as always, the woman. Westerns have always been imbued with a sense of their own logic, their own rules. There are clear power balances that are established; three guns, for examples, outnumbers two. We can almost certainly tell who has the upper hand just by looking the eyes. They tell us so much...and of course the fingers, inching towards the holster. Leone was very good at this, but of course he learned from the master. Ford subverts these structures in this film because it was the last of his westerns with Wayne and even he knew that the west was dying. Tom and Valance exchange death-stares in the restaurant, with Pompey ever present with his shotgun, and conventionally, we expect a slow, agonisingly tense retreat, but we would also be relishing the battle later on. Here, Ranse rudely interrupts them with some common sense. Who would die over a measly steak?, he exclaims incredulously. But as he goes into the kitchen the bravado cracks and we can see his is visibly shaken, and on the verge of tears. Stewart was not often asked to be one of the weaker of the cast, but here he does very well. Is it enough for Vera Miles' Hallie, who is the aforementioned woman the two leads are fighting over? She flirts harmlessly with Tom every time he comes around for his dinner, but the younger and newer lawyer seems to have caught her eye. Ranse offers something that no one else in this town can offer, not even the hardy Tom, and that is the hope that comes with his knowledge of the law and his passion to educate the townsfolk. She is clearly taken by this little glimmer of inspiration; how long has it been since someone didn't treat Liberty Valance's brutish invasions as normal affair? Notice that Ford doesn't ever lean on those sappy, inevitable moments to signify the romance. He suggests through their actions and reactions. The most telling scene of the film is when Hallie confronts Ranse after his 'showdown' with Vance. This is what she wanted for him, is it not? For him to stick close to his principles and to stand up for what he has been proclaiming to the townsfolk all this time. No more being bullied by the bigger men. And yet, one look at the 'hero' and Hallie immediately knows that she cannot admire what has clearly scarred him. Without a single word we know that her priorities have shifted - that she now values his wellbeing and safety more than any high-minded lawyer talk. But it is Tom that we are admiring at beginning at end. He is a character that has a distinct awareness of his own use-by date, but nevertheless chugs on, perhaps because without him Shinbone would be left free for Liberty Vance to terrorise as he pleased. We sense that he has been waiting for someone younger and more idealistic like Ranse to arrive and relieve him of his duty. John Wayne has been required in many of his roles to have that masculine aura of invincibility, the rugged wanderer, to always have the answers (often a physical one). It is why instead of weeping or talking he instead beats Vance's thugs, and then in an act of silent rage, destroys his house and possessions. But here in this film he is also required to know that this persona is not enough, and that his time has come. He realised this in The Searchers too, and gave us one of the great all time film endings. Much more admirable is the hero who knows when to back down and admit they are out of their element. He adds a parting gift - a coward shot, from the darkness, for a man who must be protected in order for Shinbone to flourish (Steward spends much of his time wearing an apron and in the kitchen - the symbolism is clear enough). With this, he has fired his last bullet, his own personal code of honour marred, but he has ensured the building blocks for the future. Tom Doniphon is the hero of this story. He was the man who shot Liberty Valance.